IS OVX1 A SUITABLE MARKER FOR ENDOMETRIAL CANCER

The single most common cause leading to the diagnosis of endometrial c ancer is postmenopausal bleeding. Although most patients with early-st age disease (FIGO stage I and II) can be cured, prognosis worsens cons iderably with increasing stage. While serum CA 125 levels are elevated only in a significant proportion of patients with advanced disease, r ecently a new serum marker (OVX1) for the detection of early-stage end ometrial cancer was reported. Serum OVX1 levels were measured using an OVX1 radioimmunoassay (RIA) or enzyme immunoassay (ELA) in 192 patien ts with endometrial cancer. CA 125 levels were measured in 112 patient s using the CIS ELSA CA 125 kit. Apparently healthy females had mean s erum OVX1 levels measured with the OVX1-EIA of 1.34 +/- 0.74 U/ml, whi le patients with endometriosis had mean OVX1 serum levels of 3.15 +/- 2.45 U/ml. The mean OVX1 serum level for endometrial cancer patients w as 2.00 +/- 1.32 U/ml. These values were 2.76 +/- 1.62, 6.10 +/- 4.66, and 5.37 +/- 3.49, respectively, using the OVX1-RIA assay. Applying a cutoff value of 2.8 U/ml, serum OVX1-EIA levels in endometrial cancer patients were increased in 25 of 127 patients (19.7%) with stage I di sease, 5 of 17 patients with stage II (29.4%), 5 of 22 patients (22.7% ) with stage III, and 4 of 11 patients (36.4%) with stage TV disease. Using the OVX1-RIA and a cutoff of 7.2 U/ml, serum levels were increas ed in 22 of 127 (17.3%) stage I, 6 of 17 (35.3%) stage II, 5 of 22 (22 .7%) stage III, and 6 of 11 (54.5%) stage IV patients. Serum CA 125 le vels, determined in a total of 112 patients, were elevated above 35 U/ ml in 12 of 79 patients (15.2%) with stage I, 4 of 12 patients (33.3%) with stage II, 8 of 13 patients (61.5%) with stage III, and all of 8 patients (100%) with stage IV disease. While a good correlation betwee n serum CA 125 levels and the clinical stage of the disease was found, no correlation could be detected for OVX1 and stage. (C) 1997 Academi c Press.